White Scars

The White Scars were the V Legion of the original twenty Space Marine Legions of the First Founding. Their Primarch is Jaghatai Khan. During the Horus Heresy the White Scars remained loyal to the Emperor, after which they reorganized and split into Chapters. Drawing on the tribal savagery of their homeworld, the White Scars practice a highly mobile method of warfare, tearing into their enemies with lightning-quick attacks and vanishing before a response can be made.

History

The Great Crusade

By the time the 5th Legion was united with their Primarch Jaghatai Khan, he had united the fierce tribes of his homeworld Mundus Planus. Upon meeting the Emperor, Jaghatai recognized him as a man who embodied his ultimate ideal, someone who could unite all the stars of the sky. At his palace at Quan Zhou he swore allegiance to the Emperor and was given command of the 5th Legion. The Astartes adopted the facial ritual scars of the Talskar tribesmen and renamed themselves "White Scars", while many of Khan's loyal tribesmen were allowed to join the Legion.[3a] Jaghatai's palace, located in the rugged, lonely mountain passes of the Khum Karta mountains, would become the Legion's Fortress-monastery.[1]

The White Scars fought many bloody battles during the Great Crusade and under Jaghatai Khan they became infamous for their fast attacks and hit-and-run assaults.[3a]

The Horus Heresy

Jaghatai Khan and his Legion had spent several years in a campaign against the Orks of the Chondax System, which had been intentionally prolonged by the Alpha Legion,[19a] when news about the betrayal of Horus and the Drop Site Massacre arrived. They were urged by Rogal Dorn to return to Terra[7a] The Khan was contacted by Leman Russ who had just returned from Prospero and offered to join forces with him. Horus, however, had anticipated this and sent the Alpha Legion to launch an assault on Russ' outnumbered Space Wolves, where they were defeated at Yarant.[7a][8] Although he despised leaving the Space Wolves on their own and was faced with dangerous Warp Storms, Jagathai Khan followed Dorn's urgent request to return to Terra immediately rather than engaging in a costly battle against the Alpha Legion. Most of all, the Khan sought to find answers for himself as to what had happened to the Imperium. Using a fleet formation known as the the chisel, the White Scars broke a nearby Alpha Legion blockade, destroyed several of their warships, and left the Chondax System behind.[7a]

The Khan eventually decided to return to the source of all of these problems to investigate for himself and arrived at Prospero after its apocalyptic attack by the Space Wolves. Of both sides, the White Scars initially found no sign, but the ghosts of slain Thousand Sons soon appeared and the White Scars found their weapons ineffective against these deadly enemies and Master Qin Xa ordered an immediate retreat. Eventually the Khan himself was confronted by an ethereal projection of Magnus the Red, who implored his brother to choose a side in this war and not trust the Emperor. In the end the Khan shattered the shade with his sword. Jaghatai and his Keshig next encountered Mortarion and his Deathshroud of the Death Guard, and the two sides did battle. Meanwhile as White Scars and Death Guard ships began to engage each other in space, the legion was faced with an attempted coup led by Torghun Khan and Hasik-Noyan Khan to take command of the White Scars fleet, strand Jaghatai on Prospero, and join their forces with Horus. Thanks to the efforts of Shiban Khan, the plot failed. Mortarion and the Death Guard withdrew shortly after after a brief battle in space.[25]

Post-Heresy

After the Horus Heresy, the White Scars adopted the Codex Astartes and the Legion was divided into several Chapters.

In order to contain the outlaws, renegades and aliens that dwell within the Maelstrom, Roboute Guilliman ordered the surrounding systems to be reinforced. The White Scars were tasked with the main responsibility of securing the area from their homeworld.[5a]

The Sabbat Worlds

The White Scars fought alongside Saint Sabbat during her crusade to liberate the Sabbat Worlds from the forces of Chaos. After her martyrdom on Harkalon, where she suffered the Nine Holy Wounds, her body was retrieved by the White Scars and interred on Hagia.[14][17]

The Lost Kin

According to the writing of the Great Khan of Quan Zhou, the White Scars learned upon their return to Mundus Planus that their homeworld had been the target of numerous Dark Eldar raids. Jaghatai swore many oaths against the Dark Eldar and fought them in many battles. It was during the battle of Corusil V that he and his first brotherhood followed a mighty Dark Eldar lord through a gate into the webway, vanishing forever.

Thirteenth Black Crusade

The White Scars send forces to the Cadian Gate under Khajog Khan. Within a short period Kajog's Brotherhood becomes a major threat to Abaddon's Plans, lifting the sieges of three Kasr's. As a result, Abaddon ordered the first company of the Black Legion guided by Zaraphiston as well as a horde of The Lost and the Damned to hunt down and destroy the Brotherhood. Khajog launches a Biker attack on a Black Legion slave convoy on Cadia, plunging into a Black Legion ambush and taking heavy loses. The White Scars withdrew to the Caducades SeaPylon, with the remaining sixty Brothers viciously fighting to the death.[21]

Attack on Volghast

Combat doctrine

Veteran

The Chapter is highly mobile even for Space Marines, specializing in lightning warfare, and making use of attack bikes, Land Speeders, Storm Talons, and other fast vehicles. Those mounted on bikes often make use of a special type of power weapon called a Power Lance, providing the same destructive potential at a much greater range.[3h] Heavily-armoured forces are often left chasing after shadows while the White Scars easily outmaneuver to attack them at their weakest point. White Scars forces prefer to attack their enemy at range, using their speed and firepower to destroy them, but are more than capable of committing their Assault Squads in ferocious hand-to-hand fighting.[3c]

Organization

Stormseer

The Chapter organization of the White Scars reflects their home world's tribal culture; for example, Librarians are referred to as Stormseers. White Scars recruit from a single planet, Mundus Planus. The steppes of the world are inhabited by feuding tribes, from which are chosen the best and most promising young warriors, regardless of tribe. Once a warrior becomes a White Scar, loyalty to his tribe is replaced by loyalty to the Chapter and the Emperor.

As their Primarch did during his campaign to unite the steppes, recruits from different tribes are mixed together in squads. Each squad becomes part of a Brotherhood, roughly equivalent to a standard Company. However, unlike other Codex Chapters the White Scars maintain a much higher proportion of bike squadrons and Land Speeders, a reflection of the style of warfare favoured by the Chapter. They are also entirely lacking in Devastator Squads, as the slow, heavy weapons clash against the White Scar's method of battle. The Chapter also maintains relatively few battle tanks, which are often stripped-down versions in order to keep with the rest of the White Scars. Finally, the White Scars do not possess any Dreadnoughts since the thought of confining a warriors' spirit within a sarcophagus is abhorrent to them.[3d][11]

Previous editions

The Whitescars are organized like most Space Marine Chapters. For over two thousand years they have been guarding the Kolarne Circle, a densely populated cluster of systems, constantly threatened by internal rebellions and nearby Ork warlords. The Chapter has a long and proud history and played an instrumental role in the destruction of Hive FleetBehemoth (noted as being a Chaos aligned force).[1]

The Whitescars are completely fleet-based, their fortress-monastery being the space barge Constantinius. Their fleet numbers over a hundred ships, and as a result the Chapter has a high number of Astropaths and Navigators attached to it.[1]

A unique formation within the Chapter are the Souldrinkers, Space Marine veterans that excel in close combat. These Marines are armed with power-swords and refractor fields and bear their own distinctive shoulder badges and honour banners. Another formation are the Cobra Squads, comprised of regular members of the Chapter's companies that have been equipped with jump packs.[1]